Fearing the Future
by Leyoht
Summary: I'm starting to change. You are, now? Yeah; it's pretty weird. How so? Well, I'm becoming a bit like you! ... What? Oh, nothing! - To get a bit more backstory on this, check out /art/Dreamcast-328058450 Unfortunately, the actual story to the picture has been deleted :/ You can still check the predecessor to "Fearing the Future" on my FF!
1. Modern

_Home at last,_ I thought with a sigh. After a long day of collecting rings and beating up badniks, a little time with my special someone was just what I needed. I blushed at the thought of spending time with him.

_I wonder what Mini-me has been up to,_ I wondered. _He's probably been spending the whole day with Classic Tails or something._ I snickered at such a thought.

Coming mere paces away from my Green-Hill home, I put a smile on my face and turned the doorknob. Immediately upon doing so, I felt a familiar rush of wind billow past my ears. "Mini-me!" I called into the house. "I'm here!"

As if on cue, Mini-me ran up to me as fast as he could and practically tackled me. The force of it all nearly pushed me off my feet—forcing me to stumble backwards.

Feeling as he nuzzled me playfully, I ran my fingers through Mini-me's spines. "How was your day?" I asked in curiosity.

Mini-me responded with a thumbs-up—to which I chuckled.

"Hey," I began, scratching behind my ear, "I might be going crazy, but weren't you a bit chubbier last night?"

In response to my question, Mini-me blushed—his face turning redder than it was blue. He took a look down and patted his belly.

As I watched the love of my life fool around with his tummy, I let out a huge yawn—the likes of which nearly pierced my own ears. It was while yawning when I felt Mini-me nuzzle against my chest once again.

Seeing the obvious playfulness in his eyes, I took a look down at him and smirked. I touched my nose to his when I asked, "Let's say we take this to the bed, huh?"

Placing an amused grin on his face, Mini-me jumped into my arms—throwing me off-balance all the while. "Whoa!" I chuckled, stumbling over to the bed while holding him in my arms. He seemed to be growing heavier and heavier by the second! Fortunately for me, it didn't take long for me to reach the bed.

"And—here we are!" Those words flying from my mouth, I dropped Mini-me into our bed.

With a smile on his chubby face, Mini-me pulled me down to him. Before I knew it, my nose was touching his once again.

I returned my younger self's smile as I dragged a finger along his chest. The result of such an action made him release an inaudible giggle. "So," I began, continuing to drag my finger. "Do you want to talk or get down to business?"

His eyes hungry, his chest ticklish, Mini-me wrapped his arms around my neck. To such a notion, I pulled myself toward him and stuck my tongue in his mouth. He did the same—only with much less force than me.

Pulling away, I murmured, "I love you, Mini-me!"

My young counterpart replied with a quick nod—then resumed kissing me.

Nothing could ruin this moment for me; I had the greatest hedgehog in the world right beneath my grasp. Funny to think about—considering he's just my younger self—but I didn't care. I could love whoever I wanted—no matter what time or dimension they came from!

In the midst of my happiness, I witnessed something blue poking out from the window. At first I thought it was a part of Mini-me—but its skin was too light a blue to be a part of Classic Sonic's body.

Pulling my lips away from Mini-me, I looked over at the blue creature in question. _What is that?_ With further investigation, I discovered said creature was a chao. "What in the—?"

Clearly curious as to why I had stopped kissing him, Mini-me turned his gaze toward the window and caught sight of the chao, as well. It was while staring at the little blue animal when his ears flattened against his head and his teeth ground together.

I knew this day was coming. I didn't want it to come—but it was looming over us like a cloud. There was nothing I could have done to stop it; the warning signs were sitting under my nose the whole time. A sigh escaped from my lungs before I muttered, "I guess it's that time, huh?"

His ears twitching, Mini-me put a finger to his lip. Sadness showed in his eyes as he rubbed my cheek. Without any way to talk, that was all he could do.

Taking notice of his obvious confusion, I decided it was time to explain just what was going on. "Right around your age—" I began. "—or, uh, however old you are—I started becoming the hedgehog that I am today. Just earlier I noticed your belly was getting smaller. That's just phase one. Soon you will have longer hair and green eyes. And before you know it, you'll be talking!"

An almost amused smile plastered upon Classic's face upon hearing those words. "You really think so?" At that moment, Mini-me froze—his face turning red and his eyes widening.

My mouth hung open before I stammered, "You—you just—!"

Finishing the sentence for me, Classic giggled, "I—I talked!"

Despite being able to talk to my younger self for the first time ever, I couldn't help but let a shiver run down my spine. _It's not that bad,_ I reassured myself, hoping to alleviate my fears. _After all, now I can talk with him! _"Well hey," I began, "you're still my Mini-me!"

_It's strange though,_ I thought while scratching the back of my head. _I don't remember my voice being that—that perfect blend between nasally and squeaky._

"And now I have a voice," Mini-me added with a chuckle. And with that, he hugged me tight—nearly squeezing the breath out of me—and murmured, "Now then—where were we, Older-me?"

Almost as if out of nowhere, I hesitantly responded, "Sleeping." Without further ado, I pulled the blankets over me—enveloping myself in its warm embrace.

Even though I was faced opposite of Classic I could practically see the undeveloped tears ready to form in his eyes. "O-older me?" he stuttered in confusion.

"Goodnight," I responded.

In a desperate attempt to remove my anchor on the bed, Mini-me started nudging my shoulder. He did this once—then twice—until I found myself shouting, "I said goodnight!"

The sound of my roar made Mini-me jump—shaking the bed all the while. I could practically hear him crying—very silently, but he was crying nevertheless.

Letting out a sigh, I muttered, "I'm sorry," and turned around to plant a kiss on his forehead. Much to my well-deserved surprise, the only thing my ice-cold lips touched was a blanket. "Mini-me?" he was nowhere to be seen. _He's probably in the living room, _I thought with a sigh.

It was maybe six in the morning when I woke up—almost surprised to notice Classic was nowhere to be seen. _Did he spend the whole night in the living room? Really?_ Shaking my head, I pulled the blankets off my body and furtively made my way to the living room.

Lying before me was my lover—using the floor as his own bed. There were no pillows under him and no blankets sitting on top of him.

_He's still asleep, _I thought with a sigh. _I guess now is the best time._ I fought back tears as I reached for a pen and piece of paper. Every word I wrote down spelled the truth—the harsh, painful truth. I would have to tell it to Mini-me at one point or another—and as I said earlier: now was the best time.

Rubbing my moist eye, I ended off my note. Hoping to put all my regrets behind me, I tip-toed my way over to Mini-me and gently set it upon him as he slept.


	2. Classic

Every word struck my heart like a thunderbolt. After spending the last night crying in the living room, you'd think this letter was the last thing I needed.

Dear Mini-me,

These past few months have been the best of my life, but I'm gonna be honest with you. Just the very fact that you're me from a long time ago is awesome—that you're me from the Genesis days. You reminded me of the old days, and you made me happy. But then I noticed you changing. I realized you're turning into the Dreamcast version of me. And I can't be with someone who reminds me of that monster.

Sincerely,

Sonic

That letter was enough to set me off. "No," I murmured, disbelief coursing through my veins. Without any other way to respond, I collapsed on the ground and started weeping. Rushing like waterfalls, the tears fell from my eyes and splashed into the carpet.

"Hi, Sonic!" cried a familiar voice.

Taking a look up, I noticed Tails—the Tails of my time—had just poked his head through the window, supported only by his two Tails. He held a look in his beady eyes which seemed to say, "I'm ready to brighten up your day!" But even he could not do that.

Wiping my eyes and nose, I sobbed, "H-hi Tails!"

His ears twitching in confusion, Tails hesitated before asking, "Do you—uh—want me to go somewhere else?"

"No!" I screamed in response. "Please—don't you leave me, too!"

Eager to figure out just what I was talking about, Tails flew through the window and asked, "What's up, buddy?"

Still choking on my own tears, I replied, "Modern left me—because I look to much like Dreamcast."

In response to my words, Tails blew a raspberry. "Oh, that can't be it! There's gotta be—"

"Read this," I demanded, shoving Modern's note under the fox-boy's nose. My voice calming down slightly, I explained, "He left this morning before I woke up."

Despite his young age, Tails was quite the bookworm. I found it odd how he—of all people—read more than anybody I had ever known. It's funny—I realized—how the youngest of people seem to surprise society the most. "Oh no," he murmured, finishing the note off.

As I started sobbing into the couch before me, Tails nudged my shoulder. Such a sensation made me want to wave Tails off—to tell him to leave me be—but I knew that wouldn't be enough to drive someone of his youth away.

"Come on, Sonic," he encouraged, continuing to shake me. "You're just about as fast as he is—maybe even faster!" At that moment, the fox-boy paused. "Wait a minute—are you _talking_?" The emphasis placed into that one last word was enough to make me flinch.

Pulling away from the couch, I faced toward my foxy friend and replied, "Yeah—I am."

Ears flattened against his head, pupils shrunk to near microscopic levels, Tails scratched his head in utter confusion. "How did th—?" He shook his head in acceptance. "Never mind. But anyway—you're just about as fast as the older you. You can just follow him!"

Those words made my ears twitch. With a blink of my eyes, I replied, "You know what? You're right!" I made no hesitation to leap back up on my feet. "Come on!"

Grabbing the fox-boy's hand, I dashed out of the house, making my way through the front door. Along the way I passed the note Older-me left behind, grabbing it with my free hand. Very little time had passed before I found myself zipping toward my love at the speed of sound.

"This is great!" exclaimed Tails, a twinkle in his eye. "Another adventure! I can see it on the Genesis now; it'll be called Sonic the Hedgehog 4!"

Even as my friend went off on what some would call a conversation with himself, I kept rolling on forward. But even with the whole world blazing past my eyes in a sea of blurs, I seemed to know whenever my lover appeared.

It didn't help with him being a celebrity and all. Everywhere I looked, I found posters, commercials, and even people dressed up to look like Modern.

Eventually I started feeling something in my eye. Sobbing, I stopped in the middle of my running, finding myself in what looked like an abandoned alley. "T-Tails," I began, facing my friend with glistening eyes. "What if we don't find him?"

Someone behind me sneezed, making my ear twitch. _What was that? _Curiosity bit me hard as I shot a look at a dumpster and started walking toward it. Did the dumpster sneeze—or did the person lingering inside it? Sure enough, I found Modern dwelling in it, rubbing his itchy nose. "Older me!" I exclaimed.

With a sniff, Modern murmured, "Crap."

That one word made my ears flatten against my head. "Wh-what?" I asked. "Aren't you happy to see me?"

Pulling his head out of the trash can, he asked in response, "Did you even read the note I gave you?"

Little beads of sweat rolled down my face as those words rammed into my ears. "Well, yes," I began, glaring at my future self. "But guess what? I love you enough to come back for you, anyway!"

Nothing but silence filled the air as Older-me stared back at me. The green in his eyes looked different—much dimmer than usual! From what seemed out of nowhere, he muttered, "I just—I can't do it."

And just like that, my anger flared. _Can't do what? _I wondered, the scent of bullshit lingering in my nostrils. Without hesitation, I grabbed Older-me by the wrist and yanked him all the way out of the dumpster. Such a sudden change of position made him stumble a bit.

"Well, let me tell you something, Older-me!" I began, losing the war to my tears. "I've done nothing but love you unconditionally. If you really loved me, you'd love what's happening to me." I paused, wiped my tears, and continued, "Maybe that's why Dreamcast started killing."

Unable to hold back my emotions, I let it all out in one great cry! "Feel happy for yourself when I'm cold and heartless, you bastard!" And with those words flying off my tongue, I wadded up his note and threw it at him, letting it fall into the puddle before Modern's feet. All that made his ears flatten against his head.

As I began stomping away, wiping my eyes all the while, I heard Older-me take a few steps in my direction and call out, "Wait!"

_Has he changed his mind? _I wondered. After two seconds, did he already have second thoughts? Hoping for the best, I turned around and asked, "What?"

"You just don't understand," he explained with a sigh. "I can't love somebody who reminds me so much of myself. The reason I fell in love with you in the first place was because you were like me—only different."

He was joking, right? When about a minute of silence had passed between us, I huffed, "That shouldn't matter!" and resumed walking away.

As I walked, hoping to get as far away from that jackass as possible, Tails flew up to my side. He seemed to be observing me, but I paid him no attention.

"Uh—Sonic?" he began. "Your eyes are—ehh—"

"Green!" I snapped, cutting him off. "I know. I don't care anymore."

Tails snorted in response to my somewhat hostile attitude. Without hesitation, he turned tail—quite literally—and approached my former lover. "Hey—you!" he shouted at Modern.

Those words proved enough to make me turn my head toward the commotion. Right then and there, I witnessed Tails—the best friend any hedgehog could ask for—as he told Modern off. "Who do you think you are leaving Sonic like that?" he asked, hands on his hips. "That makes you no better than Sega—who left the console market just because it was changing!"

I blinked in response to the young boy's bravery. Never before had I seen him stand up to somebody like that—not even Robotnik!

With a great weight lifted off his chest, Tails flew back in my direction and commended, "Come on, Sonic. Let's get out of here!"

I took one final look back at Modern and murmured, "I thought he loved me." I dragged my hand under my nose.

"It's okay, buddy," Tails said, his face smiling but his voice full of sorrow. "I'm right behind ya!"

"I just don't know, Tails," I muttered, acting as if his words didn't exist.

"You don't know what?"

"I don't know what to do." My crossed my goosebump-covered arms and whispered, "I'm so afraid."


	3. Modern 2

"I feel so crappy," I murmured, leaning against the dumpster.

From what seemed out of nowhere, a young, familiar voice added, "You should."

A flinch shook up my body as I turned to face the source of the voice. Upon doing so, I witnessed Tails—not the one who had just scolded me, but the one from my time.

"Wh-what?" I stuttered. "How long have you been there?"

The fox-boy replied, "The whole time."

That alone made me nervous. _But—then again, he knows the whole story. _Keeping the thought in mind, I continued, "So you know why I left him—right?"

"That shouldn't matter, Sonic!"

_Oh God, _I thought. _Everybody's starting to sound the same!_ All this monotony gave me a migraine. I decided to let out a rant of my own.

Shaking my head, I began, "You know what? You wanna know the truth?" Frustrated beyond belief, I let out a huff. "The only reason I loved Classic was because he made me feel nostalgic. Now—with him going through these changes—I may as well become an egotist. I mean—"

Before I could finish my last sentence, Tails smacked me hard on the cheek, leaving a burning red mark. By the time I turned my eyes in his direction, Tails held a disgusted look on his face. His arms crossed when he said, "I'm doing that because Classic should have."

Trickling blood felt like it would start running down my cheek when I hissed, "Well, then—what do you think I should do?"

"You need to realize what you have done. Classic is still Classic." As those words vibrated in my ears, I witnessed Tails walking away from me. Only two steps slipped beneath his feet before he turned his head over his shoulder and said, "You didn't give up on me when I started changing."

A minute growl rolled from under my lip when I muttered, "Well, aren't you a good friend?"

"I thought you were." And with that, my former best friend lifted off into the sky, his nose pointing in the air.

I watched him fly away, tears obscuring my vision. _What have I done? _I silently asked himself. My misery increased with every passing heartbeat. I had just doomed myself; not only was Mini-me on a path to irreversible change, but now I couldn't get him back. Even with my natural optimism, I felt hopeless—and with only one option left.

I rubbed my eyes one last time before dashing off into the distance. _I have to get there before they do. _I felt like I could almost see our house already. I had but one task left.

As I came closer and closer to my house, I noticed Mini-me and Classic Tails walking back home—only much slower than me. I think I saw a glint of a tear in Classic's eye.

Thanks to my ability to run at the speed of sound, I made it home in only a few minutes. The sun eerily crept up over the horizon, its glow casting a blanket of orange over me. I could stare over at the orange star and turn away with my retinas still intact, but that was not the issue at hand.

Once in my house, I asked, "Where is the damn rope?" Never before had I needed it, so just finding it within our clustered house proved quite a challenge. I had to move papers, pictures, and books before finally finding what I was looking for.

For the first time in what felt like centuries, a smile blossomed on my face. But even with my lips turning up, my eyes couldn't help but leak their precious tears.

Strong as I hoped it would be, the rope easily wrapped around the rim of the ceiling fan. Before too long, the chair beneath my feet became the only thing separating me from asphyxiation. Fear clung to my heart, but arousal stuck everywhere else.

Dashing out of nowhere, Classic cried, "Older-me!" That alone nearly made me tumble off the chair. But if that wasn't enough to knock me off, Classic holding onto my leg certainly did the trick.

Now stapled to the ground, I looked up at my younger self when I asked, "M-Mini-me? How did you—? Ah, forget it!"

"Don't do it, Older-me!" Classic cried, seething mad. "Don't kill yourself!"

Part of me wanted desperately to tell him part of the reason why I was about to hang myself—but I decided it better to forget about even attempting that.

"Why not?" I asked. "After what I did to you, don't you think I deserve it?"

No hesitation slipped in before Mini-me insisted, "No!" His arms wrapped around mine with the fear of losing me again. "You still don't deserve it!"

Nobody had ever spoken those words to me. Did he really mean it—or was he saying it just to keep me alive? "I—I just—" I started tearing up once more.

Upon opening of my eyes, I noticed him crying, as well. "I love you too much to let you go."

I wiped my wet eyes and looked up into Classic's green ones. They may not have been as vibrant as mine, but they at least held some resilience to them. That reminded me: "But—you're so different!"

"On the outside, maybe," Mini-me corrected, lifting some of his weight from my body. At the same time, he held my hand tight. "But not on the inside!"

Even in our desperate, sad moment, I couldn't help but crack a smile. Blushing, I asked through a murmur, "So—you're the same on the inside, huh?"

The confused hedgehog wiped his eyes and said, "Y-yes!"

"Prove it."

His confusion sparked to even greater levels. "How?"

And with a pull down the ground, I demanded, "Show me your passion." I spared my younger self no mercy as I slipped my tongue into his mouth.

He was hesitant at first, but managed to play along. I could only imagine what Classic Tails must have thought.

After maybe a minute of intimacy, I pulled away. "I'm such an idiot!"

Classic smiled in response. "You're _my _idiot."


End file.
